Thursdays on KOOP from 6pm-7pm. An aural music calendar detailing upcoming shows in Austin, Texas.
on 91.7 FM - stream live online at http://www.koop.org

***Disclaimer - the opinions expressed below are manically typed out by Rg of Now Playing Austin and in no way reflect the opinions of my mother or my radio station (or sometimes even my cohost).... Just me.***

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Gypsy Punk Rock!

If you missed Gogol Bordello, you missed the biggest party Austin had to offer this October. tsk tsk This has been the only show I've been to in a LONG time (I'm talking a looooooong time) where the entire crowd was "into" the show. Everyone was dancing, clapping, gypsy punk rocking, and having a great time. THESE are the best kinds of shows. (nothing more that I hate than people at shows being vegetables or talkative a-holes). My friend, Todd (seen below), was perfect example of what a great night of gypsy punk rock can do, pure enjoyment.

If you missed it, it was probably because Gogol Bordello was quickly sold out, and for good reason. Me, Gina, Sean and my awesome teammate Lucille Brawl all held fast to an "intense" crowd full of sweat and cheers. Sure people pushed by to get to the front, but just as many people pushed to get out for a breathe of air and we had a great time jumping around to the always entertaining Ukrainian Punk Rocker!

Just another reason Emo's is one of my favorite venues; that same show at other "large" venues just wouldn't have been the same (who else would tolerate all the punk-asses and broken glasses?). :-)

Now for....NEW MUSIC

I recently happened upon some new music. Deidre and I ventured over to the Carousel Lounge saturday night to see local power pop trip, Basic. We rarely hit Carousel, but the place has awesome vibe, plus is BYOL (not that we needed that). Basic had the whole crowd dancing too, and even singing alongOpening was "Count Dracula and his Weed Smuggling Jam Engine"

(try saying that 3 times fast, or better yet try fitting that on your marquee or poster). I'd heard the name, but hadn't heard the sound, so we were pleasantly surprised to hear a group of talented musicians. Now, the singer, he was a bit on the awkward side (nothing wrong with that... Keep Austin Weird man), but his constant pacing made me a bit uncomfortable. If I were this guy, I'd be scared.....

Preston Dukes - guitarist/weed smuggler (right)

Ct. Dracula?? (left)

In addition to great jams, the innovative group had a live 8-track reel-to-reel running to record the show LIVE (ohhhh you know I love it already) and several video cameras running to record "surveillance" (as they called it). A very interesting group that I am looking forward to seeing again (and maybe again).

Are you going to FaFaFunfest? I don't know if I'm gonna shell out the money. *sigh*